


Salutations

by ToukoTai



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: AU where the transformers were never on earth, Gen, and humanity died out long before they entered the scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 06:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6742507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToukoTai/pseuds/ToukoTai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The stars moved and the Earth turned and the little bot waited faithfully.<br/>It was built for one purpose after all, and it would wait until the sun became a red giant to fulfill that purpose if it had to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Salutations

**Author's Note:**

> this came about from[ this post](http://pkmn-trainer-touko-tajiri.tumblr.com/post/141279039987/mooglemisbehaving-iopele-rszealot)
> 
>  

When Teletraan 1 arrives in Earth’s orbit, it becomes clear that the makers of the ruins the autobot forces have been reporting on worlds throughout this solar system are gone. There is no sentient life left on the planet logically dictated the mysterious race’s homeworld.

All that’s left are the decaying remains of a once great civilization. A civilization that rose, reached the stars, colonized planets and fell long before any cybertron ever made contact. Optimus Prime can only feel a profound sense of loss, standing there amid the towers of empty buildings.

These aliens would have been very small to a cybertronian. Judging by the size of their dwellings. But still, they would have been something, it would have been a new race to meet, perhaps a new ally to have in the war against the decpeticons. Trade partners of knowledge and technology even. All those chances lost now. There’s nothing left of the being who built here, colonized the planets, there’s nothing to say what they looked like or sounded like or who they were.

At least until Hound returns from scouting. He brings back news that yes, the planet is deserted, nothing but the wildlife(but what wildlife it is!) and the crumbling skeletons of buildings remain.

And he brings back Stalwart.

“Lil guy was tailing me over in the fourth sector.” Hound says. “It seemed so excited to see me, I just couldn’t leave it behind.”

The little bot is _excited_ to see them. It scans them, a quick harmless scan and before anyone can say or do anything, a series of noises erupt from it. These are not the sounds of a computer. Not the varied beeps and synthesized tones of a computer processing. These are sounds that vary, that change from lyrical and fluid to short and guttural.

“Optimus,” Jazz says, quietly. “Its _talking_ to us.”

The bot is squat and square. There is nothing aesthetically pleasing about the bot. It’s been built for a purpose. Built with treads and thick plating and two small pincer like arms. Able to travel anywhere on this empty planet. A single lens to view and navigate its world by, powered by solar energy fuel cells. Equipped with the ability to maintain itself. The bot is built to last and last it has.

The bot is also small. Small enough to fit in Jazz’s cupped palm comfortably as they carry it aboard the ship. Small enough that it could be squished accidentally under their feet.

It takes them awhile to figure out what its saying, over and over, repeating the words they can’t understand. They wind up having to go all the way back to its binary. To ones and zeros to understand.

And when they do-

_Hola! Nei Ho! Goddag! Namaste! Ahalan! Olá! Kon-nichiwa!_

On and on it goes, in every language of the long dead race that built it, the little bot says Hello.

“Is this what it was programmed for?” Optimus wonders. “To say hello?”

“We can ask it, ya know,” Jazz points out, fingers lightly curling around the bot. So Optimus does.

_Hi, hello, welcome!_ The bot says, each word a different language. _Welcome,_ the bot chirps, _welcome to Earth! I am designated Stalwart and I am here to greet you!_

_Hello Stalwart._ Stalwart trills in happiness.

_This is very exciting! I was built to welcome you!_ Stalwart trills again.

_Your function is to greet? What a strange race to build a greeter bot._

_No, no!_ Stalwart shouts. _You do not understand! My creators are gone, they are all gone. But this universe is so very big and this is such a small part of it. They built me to welcome you, you who would come **after**. When they were gone, I would be here to say hello, you are not alone, they were here once too!_

_Thank you, Stalwart. That is kind to hear._ Stalwart burbled and with its next rushed jumble of words causes absolute silence to descend among the autobots.

_I am here to tell you about them!_

Stalwart is a squat, crude, tiny bot. Not made to look pretty, not made to fight. Made for a single purpose. Made to last. Stalwart has audio files in many hundreds of languages, has video files, has photos and pictures and text documents. Wars, battles, famine, disease. Also books, paintings, music, poetry.

Such a very small bot and in its tiny metal and wire constructed body, it holds all the history of its makers.

_Would you like to come with us?_ Optimus offers once the full scope of what Stalwart carries is known.

_Yes! Yes I would!_ Stalwart says. _The universe is so big and I would like to go explore it!_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Stalwart spends all its dialogue shouting because it is _so. Damn. **Excited**._   
>  I mean, if you'd spent centuries waiting just on the off chance that a bunch of extraterrestrial life drops out of the sky, you'd be pretty excited too when it actually happened.
> 
> In case you wanted to know, Humanity colonized several planets, made a nice little galactic kingdom, had some(a lot) of in fighting and then did the dumb and wiped itself out with a biological weapon.


End file.
